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The Best-Selling Automobile of All Time Could Be Getting Its Most Radically Futuristic Styling Yet

The thirteenth-generation Corolla could be saying sayonara to its anonymous appearances.

Rear view of a gray Toyota Corolla with a black spoiler and red taillights.Toyota USA
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By Chris Chin

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The Toyota Corolla may be shaping up to sport some very radical and futuristic styling. The Japanese automaker just released materials for its presence at the Tokyo Motor Show later this month. There, the company teased a while bunch of concepts and innovative ideas.

But the one we’re most interested in is the teasing of the new Corolla Concept. In several presentation slides, Toyota’s team provided a few hints of the concept before its official debut.

Judging from these teasers, if the production version is going to look like the concept, the next-gen Corolla could be a serious looker.

Sayonara to anonymous looks

Silver electric sedan with sleek design driving on city street with brick buildings in background.
The Toyota Corolla Concept previews styling for the next-gen model.
Toyota

The Toyota Corolla might be the best-selling car of all time, having surpassed the 50 million unit mark back in 2021 (and counting). However, it didn’t achieve that goal due to its drop-dead sexy looks.

Rather, the Corolla sells like hotcakes because most people are looking for cheap, reliable and no-frills way to get around. That typically means styling takes a bit of a backseat to keep it neutral and under the radar.

Front view of a sleek black electric car with illuminated LED headlights and light strip at dusk on a road.
The thirteenth-gen Corolla could be the most radically designed yet.
Toyota

But now, that may be changing significantly, and all for the better. Since Toyota began selling the Corolla over a half century ago, it’s maintained rather humdrum looks.

As a result, it’s become the epitomized equivalent to vanilla ice cream in the automotive world.

White Toyota sedan with black wheels parked on a waterfront pavement under clear blue sky.
Although arguably the best-looking Corolla yet, it’s still a bit aesthetically plain-Jane.
Toyota USA

Toyota’s planning team began injecting a little bit more styling in the most recent Corolla. But the current twelfth-generation model has been with us since 2018. Thus, its design is still reminiscent of the company’s old plain-Jane ways.

With the new Corolla Concept, however, that looks to be changing completely.

This could be the most radical looking Corolla yet

Rear view of a dark-colored Hyundai Ioniq 6 electric car with illuminated taillights on a road at sunset.
The new Corolla could also arrive as an EV and help kickstart the affordable EV initiative.
Toyota

In the older days, high hopes from a Toyota concept were often met with letdowns as the design studies reached production. That’s because concept cars don’t often translate directly to their production variants, for a variety of reasons.

But lately, Toyota’s been on a roll, prepping what appear to be near-production-ready concepts. Such has been the case with recent Lexus models.

Silver futuristic electric car with tinted windows driving on a mountain road with dry hills in the background.
Production Toyota models have been strongly resembling their concepts, lately. This could mean the next-gen Corolla could very much look like the concept.
Toyota

For instance, the next-gen Lexus ES sedan looks like it came straight out of Toyota’s CALTY design center. The Toyota bZ4X also reached production, looking like and strongly resembling the design concept that preceded it.

Thus, we’re having high hopes that the next-gen Corolla could very well look a lot like the concept we’re seeing.

White Toyota Corolla XSE sedan driving on a city street with modern buildings and trees in the background.
The current twelfth-gen Corolla turns eight years old next year.
Toyota USA

Obviously, not much is currently known about the Corolla Concept. But the current Corolla range is certainly due for replacement as it turns eight years old next year.

Needless to say, for the first time, a lot of the world will be excited to see what’s radically in store for the thirteenth-gen model.

About the Author: Chris Chin is an associate editor at Gear Patrol, covering cars, trucks and anything else with four wheels. He has over a decade of experience writing news and reviews but considers himself an enthusiast first, with a passion for classics and European cars. His daily driver is a 1987 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL with nearly 250,000 miles (87,000 are his).

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